Maximum Ride Redone
by Osiris's Consort
Summary: Selected Maximum Ride scenes done how I think they should have been done. Whether just from a different view, or along an entirely different line...I suck at summaries. Just...it's all Max and Fang. Forgive me, I'm a hopeless romantic.
1. Riot

_A/N_

_Sadly enough, I don't own a single scrap of this. Not even the dialouge. *sob sob*____Oh, well. But as soon as Fang jumps out of the pages and becomes a tangible being, he can own my body all he wants! *big grin and a thumbs-up* No, no, I'm just kidding. In any case, there's some scenes in the Maximum Ride series that simply need a new take, or a different POV, or a different outcome. Since the vast majority of Maximum Ride is from Max's view, I'll probably be in Fang's head a lot. Beware of the completely hopeless romanticism._

THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT

CHAPTER 116

"Look who's come to the seashore."

Sleep was not kind to me. The vibrations in the air took a moment to compute through my nerves, to my brain…okay, someone was talking. That was good. And the voice was…smooth, cruel, cold…

_Ari_.

What does Ari want?

Max.

_Max!_

I ripped myself out of sleep. Next to me, Ig was coming round also. My head whipped around, and there was everyone's favorite Eraser—Ari, with his boot planted on Max's throat. Adrenaline filled me, and red swam in front of my eyes. I watched Max wake Nudge, who drowsily sat up, only to jolt into full alertness as she looked around. I spared a look around.

Erasers. There was no other word for it. More than I'd ever seen. Hundreds, thousands. It was madness. How did they even _make_ this many? I heard Max's quiet gasp, and I knew she saw, too. I wanted her to look at my eyes, wanted to have one of our silent conversations so I could help her fix this. I wanted to get her in charge again.

Then Ari was talking again. "You're so pretty when you're sleeping—and your mouth is shut. But what a shame to cut your hair."

My fingernails cut deep into my palms. How…dare…he. I would kill him. Coming on to Max, _my_ Max, and insulting her in the same breath—he'd pay for that. He'd pay dearly.

"When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it." She fought against his great meaty foot. That was my Max. That was my everything.

Ari laughed disgustingly, tempting my further to rip out his esophagus. Then—Gods above and below—he reached out with one of his huge paws to touch Max's face and whisper grotesquely: "I like 'em feisty."

That just goddamn tore it.

"Get off her!" I flew headfirst threw the air at Ari, taking him right off Max. Right now, it didn't matter that Ari was a solid hundred pounds heavier than me, or that he was an Eraser, or that I was so badly outmatched I might die—none of that existed anymore. I was cold. I was hot. I was raw fury, pure strength, whipcord rage and I wanted one thing in the world—Ari's blood. I'll be damned if I wasn't going to get it.

On the corners of my mind, the one bit that was still a little bit Fang, I heard Max scream my name. I had enough sense left to wonder if she needed help or wanted to help me, but both those options only infuriated me more, and I went for Ari again.

The meatbag clawed at my face. I was beyond pain. My hand came down on Ari's collarbone, extracting a highly satisfying yelp. I wanted to roar triumph, but it was way too early for that. Ari's paw caught me in the head, and my neck twisted, and the world went black.

It hurt, even in unconsciousness. Once, twice, my head crashed into something hard. _Damn_, that hurt. But even as the pain dragged me down further, another worry, so many times more important, pulled me back up.

_Max_.

If I blacked now, Max would be in serious crap.

My eyes opened, pathetically slow, and there was that goddamn Ari again, his big ugly face filling my vision. I grabbed a fistful of sand and threw it in his face, earning enough time to regain my feet. I sent a solid roundhouse into Ari's chest, and all the breath _whooshed_ out of him in a very satisfying way. But as he straightened in recovery, he threw his elbow into my face.

I felt a tooth break free of my jaw, hurting like hell. A disgusting amount of blood spewed out of my mouth, and I went down again. Dammit!

Ari leered into my face, his big, ugly Eraser teeth all yellow and drooly. "Had enough of life?" He growled. I couldn't do anything. I was seriously down for the count. Agony was trying to bring me back into unconsciousness, but exhaustion had set in way too fast, sabotaging me. I closed my eyes. _I'm sorry, Max_.

"Ari!"

Oh, Jeb. Of course. It just wouldn't be death without your betrayer-former-foster-father to watch, would it?

I rolled my still-shut eyes and the pain brought me under.

CHAPTER 118

Voices, voices in the darkness.

"Fang, you have to wake up."

"He looks really bad. He should see a doctor."

"We could carry him, you and me."

"Where to? It's not like we can check him into a hospital."

That was my Max. But…why did it sound like she was…crying…?

"No hospi'l," I insisted, but the black remained. Ow. God, I hurt all over. I wanted to curl up into a little ball and cry like a baby. No way was that going down. Not one iota of a chance.

"Fang!" Max, Max, _my_ Max. Why was my Max okay? Oh, right. Jeb. Trust him, even evil him, to save the day when I couldn't. "How bad?"

_Awful. Wretched. The worst fricking amount of pain ever endured by a birdkid._ "Pre'y bad," I muttered blearily. There was something in my mouth, and I couldn't talk right. I tried to shift to the side to spit it out, but that made it hurt more, and I couldn't hold back a groan. _Damn_, that hurt.

"Don't move!" Max ordered me, but whatever was in my mouth was seriously gross. I wanted it out. There was a whole lot of blood in there, too. I hacked it out into the sad. Freakin' disgusting. I lifted a hand to my mouth and spat the stupid obstruction out.

Small, vaguely cube-shaped, and with four spikes. Or roots. Ah, right. "Tooth," I muttered, revolted. "Feel like crap," I amended. Ow. I reached around to feel at the back of my head. There were some serious lumps there. What the hell had Ari hit my head against, his own? Ha. Not funny.

I looked up at Max. Damn, girl. Why was her face so covered with tear trails? She was practically covered in tears. She didn't look hurt. Tears for me? "You look like a kitty cat," she tired to joke, making little whisker motions. I just gave her a growl. Great, I have freaking cat whiskers, and she's going to make fun of me for it. Call me vain, but if those scar, I'll be pissed.

Max's fake smile just dissolved instantly. "Fang," she whispered, her voice breaking and startling me. "Just live, okay? Live and be okay."

She leaned down, lowering her face to mine.

_What?_

So softly, Max touched her lips to mine. Her mouth was all warmth and sweet and salt from tears, and they felt like heaven pressed against mine. That one second seemed to stretch into eternity, even as the world narrowed down to me and Max, Max and me. Blood that was already sorely depeleted rushed through my veins, and I couldn't breathe. The entire experience of having the crap beaten out of me was totally made worth it in that one moment of kissing Max.

That is, until the pain signals forced their goddamn way up my nerves, too.

"Ow," I muttered, and reached up to touch my lip. Split. Goodie. But that wasn't what had my attention right now. My fingers stayed on my lips as I stared at Max. She…kissed me? I gazed up at her in shock, and she gave me the single most mortified look I'd ever seen.

Nudge and Gazzy were both just gaping their faces off at Max, making me want to laugh, no matter how bad it would have hurt. I didn't, because it _would_ have hurt. For the first time I was glad Iggy was blind, because he hadn't seen that. At the same time, I wanted to scream it out. I wanted to yell it like a victory chant. Max kissed me.

Ow. I forced myself to sit. I didn't want to just lie here all day. Bad enough I'd already had my butt kicked. I ground my teeth, because I wasn't about to groan like some wimp. I could take pain. But the effort still made me break out in a sweat. God, this sucked.

"Man," I admitted. "This feels pretty bad." Ah, wimp, wimp! I took the bottle of water Angel was holding out to me, taking a mouthful. Swishing it around my mouth, I turned my head and spat it into the sand, along with a lot more blood. The rage was still there, subdued now, biding its time.

"I'm going to kill Ari," I swore.

For my wounds.

For Max's tears.

For my Max.

_If you feel_

_So filthy_

_So dirty_

_So fucked up._

_If you feel_

_So walked on_

_So painful_

_So pissed off_

_You're not the_

_Only one_

_Refusing_

_To go down_

_You're not the_

_Only one_

_So get up_

_Let's start a riot_

_A riot_

_Let's start a riot_


	2. On My Own

_*wipes brow*____Whoo, scene number two! And so fast! Yay me! *pats self on the back*____I'm so in love right now, my Fang…he's a darling. I actually made up some of this chapter—shocking, I know. I was convinced all I was good for was copying dialogue—so some of it actually DOES belong to me. But the characters and most of the rest all goes to James Patterson. JAMES, YOU ARE A GOD._

_Anyway, rant over. Read and review, please!_

SCHOOL'S OUT FOREVER

CHAPTER 70

"Just think of it as a recon mission," I suggested.

Max whirled on me. "What? I'm fine," she insisted, too quickly and too tensely for me to believe it at all. She twisted around in front of her mirror, checking again and again that her wings weren't visible through her hoodie. For once, that necessary bit of hiding made me ridiculously happy—that sweatshirt was totally loose. Sam-what's-his-face wouldn't be seeing much of my Max's figure. Thank God.

"Uh-huh. Usually when you look like that, I know you're about to hurl." I didn't add that I was the _only_ one who knew, because she'd never show that much weakness in front of anyone else. Not even Ig (not that he could see it anyways). I wanted to rub that in her face a little. Would she ever be that open with this guy? She couldn't even let him see her wings. I _loved_ her wings.

Max glared at me. "I'm _fine,_" she insisted.

I didn't believe it for a bit.

The doorbell rang.

I gave her the single widest, toothiest grin I'd ever worn and went downstairs to greet Sam-what's-his-face.

_(This bit here is mine. My Fang-in-shining-armor.)_

I opened the door. First impression of the kid: weak. I couldn't help it. He was reasonably built, but when you spend all your time with either Erasers or supermuscled birdkids, you get used to strength. This kid just looked mousy.

"C'mon in," I beckoned with my head, tossing black hair everywhere.

Sam grinned innocently at me. "Thanks," he said with a smile, just the picture of innocent human intentions. I snorted internally. I could kill this guy without even really trying. _Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up there, Fang,_ I caught myself. Why was I sizing this dork up like he was some kind of rival?

_Because he is,_ some snide piece of reason in the back of my mind commented. _Because _he_ wants_ your_ Max. Duh._ I ground my teeth. That worked, as far as I was concerned.

"So…you're Max's brother, right? What's your name?" The kid was looking at me, smiling awkwardly, trying to be nice.

That damn word—brother—for some reason, it drove me nuts. Maybe it's because I knew I didn't want to just be her brother. Maybe I just hated this kid's guts. Either way, I didn't care.

I didn't turn to look at him; I just stared up at the staircase Max would be walking down any second now. To go on a date. With this guy, and not me. I ground my teeth. "Nick," I growled, not quite able to keep my voice under control.

"Yikes," Iggy put in, leaning on the doorframe. "What's up, Sam? Don't mind Fnick here—" Was he ever going to quit with the Fnick? "—He's just a social stick-in-the-mud."

They hit it off from there, and I left. I didn't want to see Max come down those stairs. I didn't want to see her with him in a way she'd never been with me. Heat flashed across my skin, and my wings ached. All my muscles were tense, and I wanted to go back to the living room and rip that guy into little, little pieces before he laid a hand on my Max.

I went to my room and shut the door. Just shut, didn't slam. I spent one second looking around the room before my target became clear.

There was an aluminum baseball bat in the corner of the room. I don't know why. Maybe Anne just assumed that all teenage boys liked baseball. I picked that bat up in my hands and flexed my trembling muscles once. Then I snapped it in half.

_Damn_ but that felt good.

I took each of the halves and twisted them into unrecognizable scraps. The sharp metal splinters jabbed into my palms, but destruction was such a wonderful release. It wasn't until I had worked that scrap of metal into nothing even vaguely resembling a baseball bat that I was finally satisfied. I licked the blood off my palms as the wounds began to heal. Thank you, recombinant DNA.

I kicked the mess of metal shards under the bed and laid down, trying not to go insane while I waited for Max to come home.

CHAPTER 73

I heard the car in the driveway. Ooh, so Dorkboy had a car. I'd give it the same tender care as I did the baseball bat.

Standing up, I pulled the drape back the tiniest bit, so I could peer out onto the front step. They stood there, facing each other, both grinning and laughing and happy. I gritted my teeth. Why? Why couldn't it have been a total disaster?_ Okay, now you're just being a selfish loser, Fang_, I berated myself. Because I was. I wanted Max to be happy, that was true. I just…wanted her to be happy with _me_.

Fists pressed against the wall—too hard, I was going to break it!—I watched powerlessly, miserably, as he took her shoulder in one hand and her chin in the other. I wanted to scream. I wanted to do anything and everything to stop what was coming next.

Max's eyes went wide when he kissed her. For a moment I hoped wildly that she'd freak and push him away.

She didn't.

Dorkboy went in again, this time with his arms around her waist. Max just closed her eyes and kissed him back. I wrenched myself away from the window. I fell to my knees on the floor, gripping the wrought-iron bedpost in both hands. It twisted and distorted to the shape of my fists, as I fought back a howl of rage. I could _not_ kill him. Especially since Max kissed him back. If he was what she wanted…dear God, please let him not be. I didn't even want to think about it. I was near vomiting point already. Please, let him not be what she wants.

I heard the front door open and Max came inside. I brought my breathing under control as Max dodged Anne so skillfully you would have thought the girl'd been doing it her whole life. By the time Max's door closed, I was composed again. The bloodlust, the tinge of red over my eyes had faded. Just like with Ari, it was still there, just suppressed. But I had myself under control again.

So I went to Max. What else would I do?

"Whoa," I commented snidely, covering my eyes with a hand. "Your happy glow. It's blinding." It actually was. Ugh. I shut the door. I wanted to talk to my Max, and no way was Anne going to come be all "bedtime, bedtime" when I wanted to talk to her. Speaking of.

"They wanted to stay up to wait for you, but Anne made them go to bed," I explained. Max smiled, only adding to the goddamn blinding glow. I didn't say anything but…god, she looked gorgeous happy. I mean…she was…beautiful.

"Good thinking on Anne's part," she said, and I had to snap myself back into the conversation. The kids' bedtime was not what I wanted to be discussing. There were far more pressing matters at hand. Like when exactly I would be given permission to remove Dorkboy's limbs.

I leaned on her desk and crossed my arms to hide the fact that they were shaking again. Even I could hear how tense my voice was when I asked, "So? How was it?" Ugh, how wretchedly stereotypical. Was I one of Max's gossiping girlfriends now? The very thought made me want to stab myself. My jaw flexed, and I caught the flash of recognition in Max's eyes. Damn, she knew me too well. When you hardly have facial expressions people tend to have a hard time figuring your real emotions, but Max could read me like a book. Comparatively, at least.

"I saw him—what's the phrase? Oh, yeah—'stuck to you like glue,'" I quoted her, and she blushed, bringing me both gratification and shame. I felt bad and all revenge-tripped at the same time. "So I guess you got along all right."

"Yeah. There's a lot of that going around," she retorted after a second. Ow. She got me there. I really did kind of feel bad about kissing that girl. She was nice and all, but…she wasn't Max. There you are, ladies, that's all you have to do to date me—just turn into Max.

"So you like him. I don't have to kill him." My voice was tighter than an obese kid's stretch pants. In my mind, I asked the real question. _So do you like him enough to stop me from tearing him limb from limb? Please say no_.

Max shrugged. A _shrug_. Well, at least she didn't say yes. "Yeah. He was really nice." Open mouth, insert foot. Dammit! "We had a good time."

I picked up the uncertainty in her tone and latched onto it like a life preserver in an ocean. "But…" I pried.

Max dropped her head into her hands and started to rub her temples. My mind went oddly sideways at that moment as I considered doing it for her. But then I refocused on her and what she was telling me.

"But so what? He could be the nicest guy in the world, but it doesn't change anything. I'm still a mutant freak. We're still in a situation I hate more every day. We can't trust anyone. We can't solve the code mystery. We can't find our parents—not that it would help if we did."

I didn't say anything, though I raged on the inside. I wanted to tell her right there, that of course nothing about Dorkboy mattered, she wasn't a mutant freak, and even if she _was_, it didn't _matter_, because I was a mutant freak right along with her, and goddammit, I loved her.

That one sentence stuck out. It made sense. I pulled it out of my train of thought, stretched it, punched it, and it held. It worked. I thought about it, and pieces fell into place. Everything. Max. _My_ Max. I loved her.

"I saw Ari tonight," she said, and I looked up. I couldn't just tell her that, of course. And Ari was a big deal, too. "He was standing outside the ice cream shop. He smiled at me." Ooh, that big galloot had a death wish. "And there was someone with him…" I didn't miss the pause. It meant something. Everything meant something with Max. "I saw—"

She stopped suddenly and turned to look at me, and there she was. She wasn't like this often—it was always up, her shield, but right now it had fallen, like it sometimes did when she looked at me. My Max.

But what she said next just freaking scared the crap out of me.

"Ari had me with him. There was a me outside the window."

I blinked. Once. The first thing that popped into my head was that Max was imagining things, but…Max didn't imagine things.

"I saw a flash of blond-streaked hair in the van that day they attacked us. And tonight I saw that same hair, outside with Ari. I thought it was my own reflection in the window. But it wasn't a reflection. It was a _me_." It was there in her eyes—she was sure of this. I didn't question her.

But this was the scariest crap I'd heard in years. "Holy crap," I muttered as my brain whirred, trying to sort the sudden input of really, really weird information. "A Max on the dark side. Pretty much the worst thing I can think of. Jesus. Another Max. A bad Max. Crap." This was _bad_. I couldn't fight Max. I loved Max. What the hell was happening right now? This was really, really wrong. Take our leader and _clone_ her? What was going to _happen?_

"And that's not all." Dear Lord. What more could there be? "You know how I said if I went bad, I'd want you to—do anything you had to, to keep the others safe?"

My voice went guarded. What did she want from me? "Yeah."

"The reason I asked about that…" She inhaled and looked away from me. I didn't like that. I wanted her eyes on mine. Because I didn't want to think about what she was going to say next. I'll admit it, I was scared witless. "A couple times, when I've looked into a mirror, I've—seen myself morph. Into an Eraser."

I sat. I processed. I tried to picture it, but I didn't want to think about it. Eraser or clone or real, I couldn't fight Max. I just couldn't. That ability wasn't in my genetic makeup. "I touch my face, and it feels just the same. Human, smooth," she continued. Absently, I thought, _Yeah, smooth! You've got the softest, most beautiful skin…_But it really wasn't the time to be thinking that. "But the mirror shows me as an Eraser." Max looked down again.

My mind was whirring. It explained a lot. It explained Max's suddenly seeming suicidal nature. But…Max the Eraser…

I didn't believe it. I really didn't. They might be able to create a new, evil Max, but they couldn't change mine. They couldn't make my Max into something other than what she was meant to be.

"I bet you looked kind of Pekingesey," I concluded.

Max's head snapped up so fast I worried she'd get whiplash. "What?"

Picturing Eraser Max was really quite entertaining. "Bet you were kind of cute, pup girl." I growled at her. "Rrrff!" I did a little pounce at her. She smacked me in the head. I dodged it, and she jumped up, looking seriously mad, so I held my hands up and tired to stop laughing.

"Look," I finally said when I could talk without giggling like a psycho. "I know you're not an Eraser. I don't know why you saw that in the mirror, and I don't know who the other Max is, but I know who you are, all the way through." _You're my Max_. "You're not an Eraser. And even if I saw you as an Eraser, I would still recognize you." _Because you'll be my Max wherever you go and whatever you become_. "I know you're not evil, no matter what you might look like."

Probably the longest continuous speech I'd ever given. Also the most honest.

To my astonishment, Max was crying.

"Thanks," she whispered to me. I stood up, hesitated for a second, then reached out and smoothed her hair. God, it felt like silk under my fingers.

"You're fine," I assured her.

"Don't you _dare_ put any of this in your blog," she ordered me, Commander Max again. "Don't even think about it for a millisecond."

Yeah, like I was going to tell the world my Max had gone out with someone else.

For the time being, I just told her, "Don't flatter yourself," and went to bed.

_Standing on my own_

_Remembering the one I left at home_

_Forget about the life I used to know_

_Forget about the one I left at home_


	3. Time of Dying

_A/N_

_(Btw I don't own a single shard of Maximum Ride. All of it belongs to James Patterson. Thank you, sir, for inventing such a wonderfully romantic boy as Fang.)_

_I don't know if this one qualifies as a 'romantic' scene, but I think it is one. My heart was, like, pounding while I wrote this. Not even a lie, I was jumping around my room, like "Go Fang, GO!" Yes, I'm a psycho._

_Thank you to everyone who's reviewed, you're all wonderful! Especially dragonheart3, *cue the wild applause* who is the first person to notice the Three Days Grace song titles (I guess it's still kind of hard, considering there are only two…) And OutsideJokes. I will _definitely_ be posting scenes from book 5 just as soon as I get my hands on it. *crosses fingers* Wow, I've made this one way too long. So, without further ado, FAAAAXNESS!_

SCHOOL'S OUT FOREVER

CHAPTER 101-103

I glanced over at Max. Her face was tight and her lips were pressed together so tightly they turned white. And—to my extreme shock—there were tears streaming down her face, tears that were definitely not from the wind.

Angling my wings slightly, I tilted down to zoom in next to her. "Yo," I called, keeping my tone even. If this was nothing, she wouldn't appreciate me making something out of it. "You okay? Is this a headache?" I remembered, back in New York, when she got those god-awful, debilitating headaches that I couldn't do anything about. I didn't want her to go back there. She hadn't had one in so long. I hated being unable to help Max. That was pretty much my worst nightmare.

Max nodded and wiped hurriedly at her eyes, but her expression was still tight and bitter as all hell. "Yeah," she spat viciously. "A huge, unbearable _headache!_" She screamed, and the rest of the flock turned to her. Her teeth gritted and I saw the determination in her streaming eyes. "See you at the beach," she muttered to me, and then she was gone.

God, why did _Max_ have to be the one with the super-ultra-fast flight? Couldn't have just been Angel again, no, it had to be Max, who was always running from me. I watched her vanish, my heart going cold. Something was wrong with Max, that much was sure. And even if I didn't have supersonic flight, I was still goddamn _fast_.

I tightened up my shoulders and pumped my wings. Once. Twice. Three times. Again and again, as fast and hard as my muscles could drive them. The air was tangible under my feathers, like water when you swam. I gripped that and poured as much power as I could into my flight. "Catch up when you can!" I roared to the others, and blasted forward like a rocket, streaking after my Max.

She wasn't running from me again. No way.

Even going at complete maximum speed, stretched to the very limits of my considerable power and endurance, it took a solid twenty minutes for me to get to the beach. I swept it with patented birdkid razor-vision, searching for blonde-streaked hair against the grey sand…

I found red. Lots of red.

_Fuck!_

And there was my Max, a razor-keen shard of shell in her hand, a huge gash open in her arm, sawing deeper into the cut. She was staring obsessively at the flowing red, completely unaware. I roared fury and streaked towards the ground.

I ran to a stop, too panicked to bother about braking. Half a second and I was right on top of Max, knocking that goddamn shell out of her hand.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I screamed, grabbing her gashed wrist. Blood poured freely from it, not even pretending to clot. _Fuck, fuck, fuck!_ "Are you _crazy?!_" I demanded of her.

Max glared up at me, and I was taken aback at her eyes. Empty. There was nothing there, no trace of my Max in those eyes. I wanted to scream. I wanted to shake her by the shoulders until she woke up and was mine again. She stared up at me, looked beyond me to where the rest of the flock was coming up behind me. Slowly her eyes unfocused, refocused, and then she was back. _Max. Shit, Max_.

"Want the chip out," she whispered, her voice broken. She looked back down, her shoulders slumped in a way they never were. It was a posture I could only describe as complete defeat, utter hopelessness.

"Look where you're cutting!" I snarled, rage filling me, pouring out of me. I mean, just…_fuck!_ What was she _thinking?!_ What if I hadn't gotten here in time—she'd have died! "You're going to bleed to death, you _idiot!_" I flung my pack to the ground and ripped out a bottle of antiseptic, just pouring it into the deep gash with reckless abandon. This was something I could take care of. However goddamn pissed I was, I could fix this. I could fix my Max.

Nudge came and knelt next to us, her eyes huge with horror. "Max, what were you doing?" She whispered, too terrified to summon volume.

"I wanted to get the chip out," Max whispered. I snarled again, wrapping long white bandages around her arm. Fixing my Max, the only way I could. The only way I knew. That was the only thing I knew how to do.

"Well, forget it!" I snapped, fury still clouding my eyes. "The chip stays in. You don't get off that easy. _You_ die when _we_ die!" Never. I was never going to let her die. That's what I should have been saying. But I couldn't. I was just too mad, and I wasn't about to make a pass at Max now, not when she was, apparently, suicidal. I mean…I…fuck, Max, just _fuck_.

Max looked up at me. Her eyes were bottomless, wet and completely limpid and sucked me in. I could see my own furious reflection in them, my whole face just one big scowl. Max's eyes grew, if possible, sadder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her words barely comprehensible, and then she just exploded into horrible, horrible sobs.

She hid her face in her hands, just kneeling there and bawling like she was never going to stop. I couldn't help it—I balked a little right then. Here was something I didn't know how to handle. I could handle Max mad, Max hurt, Max confused, but Max crying was new. Then I tightened my jaw and resolved myself. _I_ was the one who put Max back together—again, and again. _My_ Max.

I took her into my arms and buried her face in my shoulder gently. That much Max got, because she pulled her wings in and leaned her body into mine, and wailed harder. The rest of the flock tentatively approached us, started patting her hands and hair and back. Nudge made soothing little "Shh, shh," noises.

"It's okay, Max," Iggy muttered, looking downright terrified. "Everything's okay."

Max nodded into my shoulders. I leaned my cheek against the crown of her head. Deep down, I felt a powerful urge to glare up at them all and tell them to back the hell off and leave Maximum Ride to me. I could handle this—she was _my_ Max. I was a selfish bastard, I knew that. I wanted Max all to myself. I wanted to show her that I was the one who could put her together again. I _wanted_ to put her together again.

Eventually, Max stopped crying, just sobbing dryly, and finally that stopped, too. My shirt was completely drenched, but I didn't mind that so much. I didn't let her go, either. _My_ Max.

She lifted her head out of my shoulder, so I let her go, trying not to show how reluctant I was about it. Max looked up at the flock, but she didn't look at me at all. Was she mad? What about? Or was she just embarrassed? It was impossible to tell with her. "Sorry, guys," she muttered, her voice just awful sounding. Crying wasn't good for her. I clenched my fists, feeling helpless again.

Total came and put his little Scottie head on her leg, giving her his sweet puppy eyes. For the craziest moment of my life, I wanted to be that dog. I wanted to rest my stressed-out, Max-filled head on her legs and just lie there and stare at her. Forever. Forever.

CHAPTER 104

"So," I ventured, trying to keep my tone under control. "What was that about?"

Max looked away. She couldn't weasel her way out of this one—how much confusion could there be on what I was talking about? None, that's how much. None.

"I'm just—really tired," she began reluctantly. "The Voice was ragging on me about my destiny and how I have to get on the stick about saving the world. It just feels like too much sometimes." I blinked and suppressed an expression of surprise. My god. Maximum Ride actually confessing to being overwhelmed? It really must be awful. I wanted to help, but how could I? She was the leader. I wasn't going to wreck that. "I've been running on adrenaline, without a master plan. Every day it's just, keep the flock safe, keep us together. But now everything else has been dumped on me, all these bits and pieces that aren't adding up to a whole picture, and it's too much."

Dear _god_, my poor Max. I wanted to do something, I wanted to do everything. I wanted to take all those oppressive weights off her genetically modified shoulders and put them on my own. She could ride right up there with them. I could carry it all. "Pieces like Ari and Jeb and Anne and the Voice?" I supplied.

"Yeah. Everything. Everything that's happened to us since we left home. I don't know what to do, and it's so hard even pretending that I do." Wow. The blood loss had to be making her delirious, because Maximum Ride was genuinely confessing to weakness. To me. No one else. Just like I smiled for her. No one else. What were we? We were growing up, we were becoming something else. Something more. The flock was all brothers and sisters and love, but Max and I, we were more.

"Walk away from it," I suggested bluntly. "Let's find an island. Drop off the screen." _Run away. Run with me. Run away…with me. Run away with me. Be mine, and only mine, and always mine. Let's find somewhere where the rest of the world can't find us, and it'll just be you and me and we can be more that what we are_.

"That sounds…really good," Max slowly replied. My heart thumped a little and I was just resisting the urge to just pick her up and spirit her away right now. "But we'd have to get the others on board." _Damn_ it! I loved them, I loved them all, but…Max! I wanted Max! (God, I _am_ a selfish bastard. I needed to get myself under control before I went frickin' berserk.) "I'm pretty sure the younger kids still really want to find their parents. And now I want to find out what this company is that Angel heard about. What if—you do research on an island possibility and I'll focus on this other stuff?"

Okay, the blood loss had to be making her insane. First confessing she couldn't handle all the responsibilities, now _sharing_ them? But again, there was this warm glow in my chest. She was sharing them with _me_.

Shyah, I'd do research on that island. I'd find one, and one day, I'd bring Max there, and it could just be us, just me and her and the flock (though I'd keep them a good distance away) and that would be it. If she wanted to save the world now, fine. I'd work on saving _her_.

"Yeah, cool," I said.

A few minutes passed and we just stared out at the beach. Max was watching the kids, no doubt, but I was staring out to sea. I was picturing that island where I would take Max someday. I swore it to myself.

I heard Max take a deep breath, and I refocused on her.

"Sorry. About before."

_Apologizing,_ now? I couldn't decide if I liked this Max or not. I think I did. She _was_ my Max, after all. Just a bit softer. Someone I could take care of. But her mentioning it made images of her, pouring blood onto sand, flood my head, and my eyes narrowed as I glared out at the water.

Max turned to look at me, then looked away, clearly expecting no acknowledgement. I didn't talk much. She didn't need me to reply. But I wanted to.

"You almost gave me a heart attack," I admitted, my voice low and dark as hell. "When I saw you, and all that blood…" Blind rage filled me again, and I picked up a pebble and chucked it as hard as possible down the beach, as if I could throw the mental image away with the rock.

"I'm sorry."

She sounded so contrite, so soft. I wanted to take her in my arms again and soothe her. But I imagined that wouldn't go over so well. "Don't do it again," I ordered her.

I heard her swallow next to me. "I won't," she vowed. I gave a tight nod.

Then I felt it.

A change. The slightest shift in the atmosphere around us. I didn't know it, didn't understand it. The only thing I could describe it as was awareness. Like finally, after I had known for so long, Max was finally waking up.

_On the ground I lay_

_Motionless in pain_

_I can see my life flashing before my eyes_

_Did I fall asleep?_

_Is this all a dream_

_Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare_

_I will not die_

_I will not die_

_I will survive_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_I feel alive, when you're beside me_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_In my time of dying_


	4. Now Or Never

_Disclaimer: I have never, still do not, and never shall own Maximum Ride or any of the flock members or any of that mess. *sob sob*_

SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS

CHAPTER 17/18

"What are we doing here, Fang?"

I looked over at her. Was she…thinking what I was…no. No, that was just me. God, I was a pervert. I needed to get my hormones under control, for Christ's sake. "The kids want us to find a place to settle down," Was the best I could reply with. I was still working on the whole hormone situation.

"What about the School and saving the world?" Max asked very, very carefully. Why so careful? What was she afraid of? Why couldn't I seem to see straight through her, like I always could?! What was different between us recently? It'd been like this since the day with the chip…but today it was worse than ever.

"We have to quit playing their game," I resolved, not looking at her. I stared at the fire instead, ignoring how the light hurt my eyes. It was really quite pretty. Not as pretty as Max, but still. "We have to remove ourselves from the equation." It was true. I was so _sick_ of being a lab rat in the School's twisted little maze game. Even though we'd escaped, sometimes it still felt like we were in one of their experiments, in one of their tests. I hated that feeling.

"I can't," Max admitted, her voice tight with frustration. At least I could still recognize that much. "I—just have to do this."

"Max, you can change your mind," I insisted quietly. I wanted her to let it all go. Let go of everything that was causing her all this stress and pulling her away from me. I wanted her to find a place where she could lie next to me, and just stay there forever…

"I don't know _how._"

Her expression twisted and she hid her face in her folded arms. Her hands scrubbed at her eyes, and for a second I was afraid she was crying again. I realized she wasn't, but now I was all worked up. I wanted to touch her. I needed to touch her. She was my Max. Wasn't it about time _she_ understood that? Maybe I could convince her. Maybe I could show her what we would have…

I reached out and pushed her hair off her neck. I felt Max's body tense beneath my caress. Slowly, slowly, I ran my hand down her silk-soft hair one more time, then allowed my fingers to roam across her neck, over her shoulder, down her back…A shiver ran up Max's body, bringing goosebumps to her flesh. I liked that. A strange and terrifying amount.

Max gave me a huge-eyed look of pure innocence. "What the heck are you _doing_?" She demanded.

"Helping you change your mind," I murmured. I took her chin in one hand, tilted it up so that her face was even with mine. I took a breath, leaned over to her, and kissed her, right on the lips.

She stiffened up, but I didn't let her go. I had one hand on the back of her neck, and I held her to me, prolonging the kiss. I moved my lips against her soft, soft mouth, all warm and delicious. Slowly, hesitantly, she began to kiss me back, making me elated and psychotic at the same time. My heart throbbed, and heat rushed through me. Feathers brushed the back of my hand, feathers and hair.

I'd already kissed Max once. Well, she'd kissed me. But this was different. More intense, more passionate, and lasting for eternities of our lips moving together, hers on mine. All the heat and sweetness almost swamped me, and for a moment my mind kicked my hormonal teenage self into hyper drive—I could imagine all the things I could do with Max, here and now, without the rest of the flock to hear or interrupt. I could picture it all, and my throat was getting all choked with desire, and Max was still just drowning me in her heat, so I slowly pulled away.

Max stared at me, deep into my eyes, like she was searching for something. I don't know what she expected to find there. It wasn't like I could give her anything. That's why I wanted to set down somewhere, somewhere where I could get a job and be like a normal teenager and be Max's normal boyfriend and buy her stuff. I had nothing to give her, not yet. Nothing but a whole heart full of love and adoration and respect. And desire. I was brimming with that.

"Forget the mission," I half-ordered, half-pleaded. My voice was so quiet, even I could barely hear it. The fire threw strange light on Max's face, casting her in constantly shifting relief, staining the right side of her face orange. The left half of her face was covered in shadow, but still clear to my raptor vision. She looked enchanting, enthralling, enticing. "Let's just all be safe somewhere together."

Max didn't say anything. I probed her eyes with mine, searching within her for the answers I needed. I saw stark surprise. There was stubbornness, and a soft, gentle will to give in. I saw dull sleepiness, and confusion. Maybe, deep, deep beyond reckoning in her eyes, I found a spark of something similar to the fire I held in me. Lust, love. Who knew? Maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see. But for one split second, as I sat there and stared into my Max's eyes, I could have sworn I saw it.

Slowly, I rubbed small circles between her wings, just the way she liked Angel to do when she was stressed. Beneath my hands, she began to relax. Her eyes half-closed, and she sighed, tension just leaching out of her body. Our eyes continued to bore into each other, waiting, waiting. The abject confusion still lingered in her hooded eyes, and I didn't know what to do about it.

I shifted my hand to her neck, massaging the taut muscles there. She leaned her head back into my caress, and I massaged harder. It seemed like she liked it, and I was just about having the time of my life, touching her. Call me creepy, I don't care. I got to touch Max.

Taking my time, trying not to startle her, I leaned in to kiss her again. I couldn't help it. She was just so _close_, so tempting, and I couldn't keep my eyes off hers, or her full, soft lips. I leaned closer, licking my mouth in preparation to lay it against hers once again…

Suddenly, Max rocketed to her feet. Too shocked and suddenly hurt to do anything else, I looked up at her.

"I—I'm not sure about this," she stammered. I looked at her disbelievingly. What was there to be unsure about? I loved her. I knew she loved me. I was sure of it, sure down deep in my bones. What was wrong? I still was incapable of doing anything but sitting there and staring up at my Max.

Abruptly, she wheeled on her heel and sprinted for the cave entrance. I was on my feet a split second later, right behind her as she threw herself out into space. Silently, I watched as she streaked off into the night. I had no way of knowing if she'd ever come back. I wanted to punch myself in the head. God, I was an idiot.

I settled for punching the cave wall, instead of myself. _Aah!_ That hurt like hell. I held my hand, mentally cursing all caves and birdkid stupidity. My whole body was trembling again, longing to go after Max. But I'd never be able to find her.

I went outside and stood in the rain, letting it flow down over me.

Max.

Max!

_Max!_

I clenched my teeth, falling to my knees.

"_MAX!_" I roared to the darkness. I didn't expect her to respond. I didn't expect that, I just…wanted to scream her name. It was pounding in my head, so hard and hot I needed some kind of exit. I dug my fingernails into my palms and _screamed_, as loud as I possibly could, to the night and the cave and the rain and the thunder that obliterated my cry:

"_MAX!!!_"

The rain soaked through my hair. I didn't feel it. Because there was nothing inside me…just emptiness. Black, black hollows. When I didn't have Max, I had nothing. And what if she never came back? What would I do then? Where else could I go? I had nothing else to do, no point to anything I did except to protect Max. To be with Max. To win Max's heart. Max, my Max.

Exhausted, I crawled back into the cave and collapsed next to the fire, letting it slowly dry my clothes and feathers. There was nothing to do but sleep and pray. Because if Max didn't come back to me, I had no clue what I'd do. I didn't know at all.

_Where's the truth?_

_For us to see_

_Because all we seem to do is lose_

_Who we are and how we've tried_

_Are we all the same inside?_

_It's now or never to decide_

_In this time_

_Are we loving?_

_Or do we sit here wondering?_

_Why this world isn't turning around_

_It's now or never!_

_A/N_

_*kowtows anxiously*____I'm so sorry! I took so long about this one, I know! Blame , not me. It's ADDICTIVE._

_Okay, yes, I know James wrote what _actually_ happened after Max flew off, but I wanted to write my own. Fang was far too coherent in that one for my taste. So I had him go a little emo/insane. You know. DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DON'T LIKE IT. So, anyway. I dunno why I put this one at the bottom. But, I BOUGHT BOOK FIVE TODAY, AND SHEESH!!! *faints into a pathetic swoon* I almost died. Finally, Fang got to make out with his Max, like, seriously sucking face. Twice. Maybe three times, depending on what you describe as making out. But still. Happiest moment of my life right then. Don't worry, my loves, only…two?...scenes stand between this fanfic and those wicked awesome makeout scenes. I will get there in due time. At this point, I'm really just hoping I didn't screw up their first real kiss. *cringes* Tell me I didn't…_

_Thanks to all of you, for reading and reviewing. I appreciate it all._

_Thank you to James Patterson for supplying such excellent fodder for me to write shameless romanticism about. (Yeah, be forewarned, I _might_ get a little bit perverted when Fang is thinking sometimes. He's just a hormonal teenage boy, cut him a break.)_

_And thanks to Three Days Grace—whose CD I finally bought today—for inevitably bringing me inspiration when I'm bored as hell and also supplying a song that can fit each of these scenes perfectly. I swear, it was meant to be._

_WOW this was long._

_I'm done now._

_Buh-bye._


	5. Over and Over

_A/N_

_Once again, I take too long! I apologize, I got out of the habit of writing. So sorry, so sorry. In any case, I still don't own anything. (Do I really have to say that every time? You'd think someone would have gotten the hint by now.)_

THE FINAL WARNING

CHAPTER 13

For a moment, I just stood there and looked at her.

Maximum Ride.

Did she ever really relax, even in sleep? Her muscles were still tense, her eyes tight and, as I watched, her fingers clenched into fists, then loosened in the next second. She rolled around a little, struggling with her covers, still completely ill at ease even when she was bloody _unconscious_.

Strangely tempted, I leaned in and put my lips very, very near her ear. I just stood like that for a moment, making sure she was good and asleep. Then I exhaled lightly, bathing her throat in my breath. In unison with me, she sighed, and her back arched up a little. A conceited smirk spread across my face, I won't deny it.

As softly as I could, I whispered in her ear. "Max," I murmured. That was all. But suddenly she flung her head to the side, and _whimpered_ a little.

"Fang," she muttered softly, and I won't even pretend to deny how hot it was, hearing my name on her lips like that. But every second I spent here increased the chances that she—or someone else, for that matter—would wake up at a very inopportune moment. I didn't want Dr. Martinez to see me here…I'd seen her looking at me, after I'd tackled Max out of that bomb's way and held her for maybe a while longer than was necessary. I didn't need to incur her suspicion…or her anger.

"Yo, Max."

She was bolt upright in half a second, bleary eyes wild, trying madly to focus. I wanted to sigh. She really _was_ tense all the time. "Wha?" She panted, confused. "What's, what's—"

"Let's take a little spin," I suggested, making a general sort of 'out there' gesture towards the window. Max blinked up at me a few times, slowly gaining consciousness and coherent thought again. This was really very amusing. I should wake her up more often. She was so _cute_ when she was confused.

"Why?" she whispered confidentially, her eyes darting around the room to the other silently sleeping girls. More reason to be smug—when I didn't want someone to hear me, I'll be damned, they didn't. _Because I haven't been alone with you in way too long, _I responded mentally.

And since Max was so cutely sleepy and I had reason to be smug and I was going to get her alone again, I grinned widely and told her, "Because we can."

She sighed, smiled, and climbed out of the bed. I whirled and got out of the room. I'd learned it—at the cost of several bruises and the silent treatment for a whole day—that Max didn't wear jeans when she slept. Just underwear. I'd forgotten, because it'd been way too long since I'd had to think about that. In the sense of actually seeing it, anyway.

I jumped out the window, soaring up into the sky, letting the night air cool my burning face. Slowly spiraling, almost vertical in the air, I bathed in the white, white moonlight, enjoying its coolness and the pallor it cast across me. I flew way up high, bathing in the cool light. It felt so good.

When I looked down, there was Max underneath me, her wings beating in perfect sync with mine. Beating in tune with me, with my heart. The steady thrum, thrum of heartbeats and wingbeats. It was like the music of our lives. Just a calming, constant _beat, beat, beat_, setting the pace for everything. In time with our hearts.

We soared like that for I don't know how long, finally coming to a running stop on an abandoned dock. Still in that same tempo, our sneakers pounded on the wood as we expended the last of our momentum. Worn out, we plopped down on the end of the dock, side by side. It was a small dock, and our wings overlapped. I liked the feel of it. I liked the gentle brush of her feathers against mine.

"This is pretty," Max commented, and I looked over at her.

I had to look away right away. The moonlight was spilling over her, outlining her sensually, filling in all her curves and her sharp angles. Dark, spiky shadows were thrown into the hollows of her collarbone, while the silk-soft moonlight curled away from them, caressing her torso and her chest…over which her shirt was pulled much too tight for anyone's good, stretched by the way her arms bent backwards…

I swallowed.

The cold white light edged out every feather on her wings, dripped down the long legs that she splayed out over the edge of the dock. For the sake of decency I was really trying to not picture her in this same pose only not quite so clothed, her chest heaving and her eyes closed and my name falling from those full lips etched out so perfectly by the silver light.

I needed, right then and in that moment, to possess her. Not just her body—though that was all too predominant in my thoughts just then—by _her_, Maximum Ride, _my Max_.

"Yeah," I choked out before she started wondering why I was taking so long about answering. "Peaceful." I took care to look away from her. If I looked at her right now, I would freaking attack her. There was no doubt about it. I was going to explode in about a minute, so I went right into the topic I'd been meaning to ease into. "Are we back on track?"

I felt her eyes on the side of my face, and it took an inordinate amount of willpower to not turn and meet them, at least so I could read her emotions. "What do you mean? What track?"

My jaw almost dropped right then. I mean, was she totally _clueless,_ or just still in denial about what was happening between us? "You and me," I explained, trying to keep my voice regulated. "We…broke up." Yeah, that was the right word. I think. Were we ever really together? Did it really matter? Oh, I was going to go insane.

Especially because Max wasn't responding. I knew she wasn't looking at me anymore, and I was getting worried that she wasn't going to say anything. So I continued, "I don't want to split up again." It was true. With every fiber of my being, I needed her here, beside me. I remembered all too well—or maybe just well enough—that horrible feeling of sheer _emptiness_ that had consumed me when I was without her. As well as that certain realization, when the Flyboys tried to make me believe she was dead, that she was not. That the world, the whole feel of it, revolved around my Max, different without her, impossible and intolerable without her.

"No, me neither," was the only reply she offered me.

I wanted to groan desperately. "Max…" _God_, she…I was laying everything out here. I was saying everything and making it quite clear how I felt, and she wasn't giving me anything back. I knew how she felt better than she did. I knew, somewhere in her, she loved me just as much as I loved her. But she wouldn't _admit_ it yet.

"What do you want from me?" I asked her. Because however much she tried to deny it, she had kissed me back, and things were changing. I didn't see what her problem with this whole situation was. I found it all too agreeable.

"What do I—what do you mean? I want the usual stuff, like always," Max sputtered. I had her way off-balance, way out of her comfort zone. _Miles_ out of her comfort zone, for Christ's sake. But she was still in denial. And I didn't know _why_.

"Look, you didn't like it when you saw me with that girl at school, back in Virginia." I knew I should feel bad that I didn't remember her name (_A/N Or maybe the fact that your writer doesn't and is too lazy to go get her copy of SOF and look it up.)_ but I couldn't bring myself to really care much about any girl in the world but Max. I mean, aside from Nudge and Angel, who were like little sisters, but even brotherly love just looked like a peanut to a pine tree compared to how I felt about Max.

Max didn't say anything, so I continued on to the biggest understatement of the century: "And I wasn't thrilled about you and Sam, the possible traitor, also back in Virginia." _Not thrilled_ didn't even _begin_ to encompass it. But did I really want to tell her about the all-consuming rage and hatred and murderous, blind fury that had filled me when I saw Max sucking another guy's face? No, no I did not. She'd use it against me one day, inevitably.

"Yeah, Virginia basically sucked," she finally agreed. _Oh, come on_, I thought. I was still getting absolutely nothing from her, and I wondered what exactly it was going to take to bring her to me.

"Well, why? Why would it bother us to see us with other people?" I prodded her. It was sort of funny to feel her stewing next to me, boiling in her own frustration and discomfort and awkwardness of the whole situation. I could practically hear her begging me to just back down and leave off in her thoughts. Well, she was damn straight out of luck, because I was _not_ letting this go. I _loved_ her, and she didn't seem to understand that yet.

"'Cause we're shallow and self-serving?" She suggested, making me roll my eyes again. Yes, that was definitely the reason. Did she always have to be so impossible?

I mean…would it be so hard for her to let her shield down, just once in a while, just for me? She did, every so often, but never consciously? I'd seen, though, when she was cuddling the kids, how her face went soft and all the muscles that kept her so tough just kind of loosened up and she let herself slip a little, let herself be just a little bit weak. The only other time she looked like that was those times when I would turn to her and smile at her, and her whole face would like up like the sun just rose on the whole damn world, and her whole body would loosen up and—for lack of a better word—she _melted_ for my smile.

Oh, I loved doing that.

I took her hand in mine. It was hard with muscle, but her skin was still soft and smooth. That was just like her. To be strong and hard and tough, but really so supple and gentle underneath all her ironclad outer layers. I looked at her hand and decided right then. Somewhere underneath all those steel layers was Max, a Max that loved me and a Max I loved even more than I loved Tough Max. And one touch at a time, one smile at a time, one kiss at a time, I was going to strip those layers off of her until I could look her in the eyes and see _all_ of her, hard and soft, tough and weak, cold and loving.

No matter how much it hurt me, I was going to pull all those layers away.

"You're…" She sucked in her breath when I finally spoke, not exhaling, waiting for me to continue. "…Such a _pain_," I finally concluded.

"_What?_" She demanded, obviously outraged, but I cut off her words by pressing her lips against mine.

Max tried to say something, but I didn't let her. With one hand on the back of her neck, I pressed her face up to mine, caressing my lips over hers. Softly, gently, but fiercely and unyielding at the same time.

I reached out and put my arm around her, pulling her closer. I tilted my head a little so I could kiss her harder, and she didn't protest. I loved the feel of her body against mine. All the places we touched, it was like the nerves there worked twenty times as well as normal—all my senses were heightened. My hands stretched out on her back, covering most of it. She felt small in my hold, small but strong. I loved the way her muscles rippled and trembled under my hands. I could feel, acutely, the soft curve of her breasts against my hard chest, and I liked that, immensely. Her breathing was loud and fast in my ears as she panted against my mouth. I liked that, too. It was guiltily reminiscent of my earlier fantasy. Sweat and sun and strawberries, her unique smell, was all over me and filling my nose as I wrapped my other arm around her, holding her as close to me as possible.

And her _taste_, filling my mouth even though I hadn't kissed her like _that_ yet, it was everywhere. It was on my lips, on my tongue, filling my head, driving me crazy. I wanted it, needed it, more of it, all of it. All of _her_, my Max.

So it was an actual, physical _pain_ when she suddenly tore herself out of my embrace. For one split second there, I was sure the abrupt lack of her was going to kill me. But it didn't. It lingered. It opted for slow torture rather than quick death.

"I, uh—" was all she managed. I won't lie about how delighted I was that my kiss left her incoherent.

I looked up into her panicking eyes. She was guarded again, not the soft girl she had been while in my arms. But looking up at her brown eyes, I knew. That kiss had peeled away one layer of my Max. The thought made me want to smile. From now, it was only a matter of patience and time.

So when she took off at a run and then at a super-fast flight, I didn't move. I sat there on that dock and planned. Planned how to strip those layers off Max until she stood, naked and vulnerable before me, and I could take her in my arms, protect her, and call her my own.

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_I fall for you_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_I try not to_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_You make me fall for you_

_A/N_

_WAAAAAH!!! *runs and hides in a corner* I'm sorry it took so long!! Really, I am! I can't keep doing this. So, if you want to accredit this chapter to anyone, thank AlabasterThreads, who reviewed this story at 9:07 PM this evening and finally made me realize—hey, I actually have a fan base out there that wants more of my drivel! In any case, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU AlabasterThreads, for finally giving my inspiration back. Oh, and to dragonheart again—I probably will do the Valium scene at some point, but I have been in a hopelessly smutty mood recently, and I abjectly refused to write something without a kiss in it. I'm probably going to skip over the Fang-Max-Brigid scene on the boat, too, just for the heck of getting to that AWESOME make out in_ MAX_. I'll come back to them later, though, I promise._

_Anyway, thanks for reading, I'm sorry it took so long, I hope you like it, and PLEASE review! As proven tonight, SOMETIMES IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN WHETHER I UPDATE OR NOT. IT ALSO JUST MAKES ME EXTREMELY HAPPY. ;D_


	6. Author's Note

THIS IS JUST AN AUTHOR'S NOTE.

It's getting posted on all my stories.

ALL OF MY FICS ARE DONE. ON HIATUS. ENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. **OVER**.

I do still appreciate all of you favoriting and putting the story on your alert list. Just don't get your hopes up. I'm not writing anything. Sorry.

Just wanted to let you all know.


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